Lagos is set to host the E1 World Championship coming up next September as Organiser of the all-electric race boat contest touched down in Lagos on Monday, to take an exploratory tour of the State’s waterways infrastructure to ensure smooth hosting of the event.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu received the event’s sponsors at the State House in Marina on Monday.
The team was led by Marlene Ngoyi Mvidia, Chief Executive Officer of Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), a subsidiary of AfreximBank.
Ivory Coast’s former striker and holder of multiple titles in European football, Didier Drogba, who is the driving force for the E1 sport in Africa, joined the sponsor team comprising Chairman of E1 Racing, Aleyandro Agag, and Strategic Adviser, Pablo Agag.
The E1 World Championship is an adventurous sport being introduced to Africa to create opportunities for talented young Africans, especially water sports enthusiasts.
Some biggest names in sports who have shown interest in the tournament include American NBA forward, James LeBron, and the legendary Spanish former tennis superstar, Rafael Nadal.
Sanwo-Olu said the choice of Lagos to host the tournament presented “another unique opportunity” to tell the Lagos story in a sustainable manner, assuring the organisers that the State was prepared and ready to host the world race boat championship.
The Governor said Lagos was prepared to take full advantage of opportunities coming with the tournament, noting that the State had adequate manpower and infrastructure to be able to take in all participating visitors and athletes.
He said: “Our governing vision is not just making Lagos a global city; we are building Lagos to be an African model city where global corporations can come and take advantage of the opportunities that are available here.
“We are excited about the initiative which the E1 Racing Team and other partners are trying to achieve. For us, we believe this is not just your own success, but the glory of the African dream.
“We see this as another unique opportunity to tell the Lagos story in a sustainable manner. We are fully prepared and transactions ready for the tournament.
“I want to assure the athletes and visitors who will be participating in the competition that we are ready in terms of manpower and infrastructure to be able to take in all of the opportunities that are coming with the project.”
Sanwo-Olu said the State, in the past week, also received a team from Formula One, which was in Lagos for an exploratory exercise to understudy the traffic flow and infrastructure in the transportation sector. This, he said, attested to the renewed interest in the State by multinational organisations.
The Governor said the State was in partnership with the French Development Bank to improve waterways experience, stressing that efforts were being made towards changing State-owned ferries from hydrocarbon to electric boats.
“We are growing and building the city in an organised manner but extremely aggressive, because we see the State as part of the global community in entertainment and innovation. Lagos is surrounded by water and has enormous space that will be able to take up the logistics.
“Participants and visitors will enjoy the warmth of our environment and the unique hospitality Lagos offers,”
Sanwo-Olu said the organisers made the best choice to make Drogba as influencer for the tournament, pointing out that the former Chelsea striker had become a household name not just in football, but also in talent development across Africa.
He said: “Drogba is an inspiration and an icon whose name opens doors,” Sanwo-Olu said, thanking AfreximBank and E1 Racing team for the vision.
Drogba said the discussion to introduce the electric boat racing sport to Africa started in Riyadh where his team met with the E1 Racing Team.
The Ivory Coast’s ex-internationale said he was interested in the sustainability part of the sport in Africa, stressing that the continent was looking forward to driving positive changes through the effort.
Drogba said: “When we had discussions about the new sport, we said Africa should not be left out. We want to be in and see how it will work. We are interested in the sustainability part of it, because I know our continent is looking forward to seeing the changes we need to implement.
In my position as a public figure in Africa, I think I can use my influence to make the sport impactful in the continent. Whatever it is for sustainability, and even for other sports in terms of inspiration, we will use our position to inspire the young athletes and even the elders to say it is possible.
“Africa has got the best athletes in the world. I believe Lagos is ready to compete in the sport. We have come here to have the support of the Government, because we need to start the game and we need to start well. We need to send a message to the world to say that the competition is here in Lagos and we can replicate it anywhere.”
